Variety had a slew of tiny players bits the other day, so here's the rundown:

One of the in-law nieces of Robert Rodriguez has been cast in an upcoming horror movie called Pearblossom. The niece in question is one of those babysitter twins from Grindhouse -- Electra Avellan. According to Bloody-Disgusting, the Ron Carlson-helmed flick is about: "a beautiful young woman who's been selected by the creator of the universe to lead a life of greater purpose. She is instructed to devour evil, and thereby gain eternal life." Hmm, interesting -- acerbic, toenail painting babysitting to chewer of bad things? Or, is her fellow cast member, Scout Taylor-Compton the evil eater? You might remember the latter as the Dean's little sister on Gilmore Girls, who made news a few years ago when she ran away from home for a brief period.

Back in February Erik told us about Matthew McConaughey's upcoming well-cast flick, Surfer Dude. Now there is a younger beefcake to add to the cast -- Nathan Phillips. You might remember the actor from his stint in Wolf Creek, or as the kid in need of protection in Snakes on a Plane. I imagine he'll either be some sort of younger surfing cohort, or maybe Matthew's son? There is still not much being said about the movie, but you can find pictures of the older dude here, and IMDb says its a: " A wave twisting tale of a soul searching surfer experiencing an existential crisis." Rad.

Finally, there's the struggling Natasha Lyonne. Years ago, she was the alterna-version of the typical Hollywood girl -- cute and snarky, and with both mainstream (American Pie) and indie cred (But I'm a Cheerleader). Then, who knows what happened, but she spiraled into something that could rival La Lohan -- there's the intoxicated driving, threats to molest a dog that led to her becoming a fugitive and the life-threatening period in the hospital. It seems that she has sorted the past out, and is now adding another role to her rising list of movies-to-come. This time, it's a role in the indie film -- The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle -- which comes from award-winning short film guy David Russo. It's a Start-to-Finish project out of Seattle that's a comedy about Dory, a white-collar guy who loses his job and has to become a night janitor for a market research firm. There, he "discovers [that] the janitors are being experimented on surreptitiously, with unexpected results." Welcome back, Natasha!